


Predator or Prey

by TheHedgehogSong



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 18:31:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16203212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHedgehogSong/pseuds/TheHedgehogSong
Summary: Will let the sun soak into his skin as he lay next to the pool in the villa. Will was only 50/50 on whether Hannibal had rented it or bought it for their honeymoon, Will really hoped he’d bought it – he wouldn’t mind holidaying here after Hannibal was dead.ORWill is trying to kill Hannibal not realising Hannibal is a cannibal





	Predator or Prey

**Author's Note:**

> Saw a post on Tumblr about Will being a black widow and trying to kill Hannibal and they end up falling in love instead and this kind of came from it

Will let the sun soak into his skin as he lay next to the pool in the villa. Will was only 50/50 on whether Hannibal had rented it or bought it for their honeymoon, Will really hoped he’d bought it – he wouldn’t mind holidaying here after Hannibal was dead.

Hannibal wasn’t his original target. He didn’t tend to go for such rich or well-known marks, but Hannibal had been easy to pull in, seemingly intrigued by Will from the start. To be fair Will had been fascinated by Hannibal too – he'd had an intensity about him but was next to impossible to read – which for Will was a commodity.

It had also helped that Hannibal didn’t mind that Will was abstaining from sex before marriage or that he was “too tired” from travelling last night to do anything but sleep on the first night of their honeymoon. It wasn’t that Will necessarily objected to sleeping with Hannibal, he was good-looking, and Will couldn’t imagine him being selfish. It was just a rule he set – no sex with the marks.

He heard Hannibal come out of the villa and into the pool area. The trap he had set was rudimentary at best. However, it would do the job and be easy to set up as an accident.

“I thought perhaps we could visit Piazza della Signoria today,” Hannibal said. Will hummed but kept his eyes shut. He was the bait, splayed out on the sun lounger with tiny trunks on to lure Hannibal toward him, the added rudeness of not answering was an easy way of getting a rise out of Hannibal.

“Will,” Hannibal said sternly, Will said nothing, just stretched a little further to make sure his body was in the best position. Will listened to Hannibal’s footsteps on the tile, he was barefoot and Hannibal was incredibly quiet when moving but Will could hear them. He was a predator attuned to his prey. The trip wire set up and positioned in such a way that Hannibal couldn’t miss it. If the fall didn’t do the necessary damage Will’s body was ready to launch up and slammed Hannibal’s head against the tile.

He could feel himself coil, ready to strike as Hannibal got closer. He could feel the hunt pulse through his veins. Ready to taste blood.

Then the footsteps continued and were beside him. “Will.” Will’s eyes shot open, and he lurched up, sitting in front of Hannibal, adrenalin pumping through his body. Hannibal was looking down at him with an intense stare. One that pinned Will to the chair, he could sense an almost danger behind it.

Will had only second to tense ready for a fight before Hannibal moved, fast and smooth. Will found himself lying back on the lounger pinned by Hannibal’s weight this time, but before Will could move to fight back Hannibal’s lips were on his. The kiss was vicious and biting – not the polite kiss that Will had experienced from Hannibal before. 

Hannibal grabbed Will’s legs and ripped them open, slotting himself between them with a forceful grind down. Will then got with the program – grabbing Hannibal’s hair and pulling it painfully with one hand, scoring his nails down Hannibal’s back and down to his ribs with the other. Hannibal pulled back from the kiss with a growl, and for one suspended moment his gaze bore into Will. Then he ducked down and bit hard into Will’s shoulder making all the thoughts leave Will’s brain apart from just 2 – Hannibal must have drawn blood, and Will was more aroused than he could remember being in his life.

Will pulled on Hannibal’s hair harder which made Hannibal’s teeth sink in further. With his other hand, Will awkwardly scrabbled to get both of their swimming trunks down. After a second Hannibal unlatched himself from Will's shoulder and helped in the effort to get the trunks down just the minimum amount to expose them both.

When that was achieved Hannibal went back to the shoulder, lapping and sucking at it. He took them both in his hand and started a punishing pace. It was rough and dry, and Will was about to explode. He felt himself go taut, arching his body and letting out a long, painful groan as he came. Hannibal followed about a second after, collapsing on top of Will in a way Will hadn’t thought him capable of. 

In fact, as Will brought his hand up to stroke Hannibal’s back and reality started to set in, he started to realise that he hadn’t thought Hannibal capable of any of that. Hannibal was polite and controlled, he had his quirks, but Will certainly wasn’t expecting that. Will tilted his head to the side. Even he couldn’t pick out the trip wire. Hannibal must have just got lucky. 

Speaking of the man, he was still on top of Will, comfortably sprawled like an overgrown cat that had got the cream. As he looked down at him, Will couldn’t help but recall the look in Hannibal’s eyes in that one moment. His eyes had been like fire, so intense he would swear they were red instead of brown. But more than that, in that moment Will had no longer felt like the predator he had felt like the pray.  

Xxx

When they had both came to their senses, Will had suggested a shower with a flirty grin. He’d given Hannibal another chance to trip again by leading the way, but the other man missed it again. Will figured that “slipping and crushing skull accidentally” was still a decent plan, it just needed tweaking slightly. He would make sure it would work this time as he’d be the one to trip Hannibal and smash his head into the shower wall. 

Unfortunately, the plan hadn’t gone smoothly, he hadn’t been given a chance by Hannibal who had crashed into Will and pushed him first into the wall. He had rutted between Will’s legs while jacking Will off. This time it was the back of his neck that got cannibalised.

Although Will was frustrated the mind-shattering orgasms were dulling the feeling a bit.

Xxx

Will sat on the edge of the bed on the second night of his honeymoon. They had gone out and visited serval places at a leisurely pace, Hannibal talking Will through the history of most of them.  It had only occurred to Will as they arrived back at the villa that he hadn’t once considered his new plan for killing Hannibal – in fact, he had just enjoyed the day. 

The main problem with Hannibal was he was different from Will's usual marks. They weren’t generally as well known or liked as Hannibal. He tried to go for people who wouldn’t be missed. That way he could kill them with his hands and hide the body with very little attention brought to him. With Hannibal it had to look like an accident otherwise it would be suspicious.

Will sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He thought his “in case of emergency” poison that he had in his bag. He didn’t like using it – it was so impersonal – but sometimes it was an easier and cleaner option. 

The bed dipped behind him, and Hannibal’s arms encircled his waist, a soft kiss was left on his head. Will sighed and leant back into him, letting Hannibal take his weight. He tried not to think about the fact he felt better just from the contact.

“What’s the matter, my love?” Hannibal asked softly. ‘My love’ should have been cheesy and make Will cringe, but something about the way Hannibal said it made Will like it. Maybe it was the way he emphasised the my.

“Just a headache,” Will replied – a stock answer but not too far from the truth. 

“Let me make you a camomile tea.” Hannibal murmured and went to move away. Lightning fast and without thought Will caught Hannibal’s arms retreating and pulled them more firmly around his waist. 

“Wait,” Will said in nothing more than a whisper. Hannibal tightened his arms around Will’s waist till it hurt slightly. It was precisely what Will needed.

Will matched his breathing to Hannibal’s and turned his head so that his forehead leaned against Hannibal’s cheek. With their breathing in sync a thought crossed Will’s mind - ‘We should both take the poison and die together. Be eternal lovers.” His eyes snapped open, and he sat up slightly, the thought shocking him out of his relaxed state. He cleared his throat.

“Tea would be nice. Thank you.” Will said, and Hannibal let go and left without another word. Will had to kill Hannibal, and it had to be soon. He was worried he was getting attached. 

Xxx

Will laid on the bed, curled up on his side, facing away from Hannibal. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep, fighting thoughts he didn’t want to think about away. With a silent sigh, Will turned around and faced Hannibal.

The other man was asleep on his back, unaware and vulnerable. Will could kill him now, straddle his waist and strangle him to death. Although he and Hannibal had shared a short courting period (3 months), Hannibal had never tried to hide his wealth and had gone out of his way to share it. Will had a joint credit card. If this were about the money, Will wouldn’t have to kill Hannibal. But that what this was about. Will could kill him now. He wouldn’t be found for a while – after all people wouldn’t want to disturb him on his honeymoon. He could take the money he wanted out of the account and disappear.

Except that wasn’t what Will wanted to do either. It felt wrong somehow. Like Hannibal dying in such a mundane manner and being left to rot just didn’t fit. It was right. Will sighed again, he’d think about it in the morning.

With that in mind, he shuffled forward and curled into Hannibal’s side, head leaning on his chest – a steady heartbeat lulling him to sleep.

Xxx

Will could feel blood dripping down his shoulder and back of his neck from the brands Hannibal had left on him. Burning bright with every throb they shouted who he belonged to. Hannibal stood opposite in the same suit he wore when he and Will had met, this time Hannibal had Will’s blood smeared around his mouth.  They were in the VIP bar area of the opera house where they had met too. However, they were alone, and Will was wearing just his swimming trunks.  

They had met when Hannibal had swooped in and saved him from quite possibly the most annoying man Will had ever spoken to. Just as Will had been envisioning bashing the man’s head in with the nearest blunt object Hannibal had interrupted. 

The Hannibal in front of him walked forward, his arms going around Will's waist and bringing him into a dance position, Will followed easily as the started to waltz.

The scenery around them changed to Hannibal’s living room where they had ended their first date in this manner. Pressed together and dancing to a song Will didn’t recognise. With other marks he would have become an expert in their interests, with Hannibal he enjoyed watching Hannibal explain something he was passionate about. He made ordinary speech seem like poetry. 

“Can you see me, Will?” Hannibal whispered in his ear, and Will remembered the meal they’d shared before the dancing. He had asked what Hannibal looked for in a partner and he’d replied with ‘someone that can see my true self. 

As Will remembered Hannibal spun him around so Will’s back was pressed against Hannibal’s chest. In front of them was the meat they’d eaten laid out. It was now starting to rot, maggots burrowing in.

“I’m not sure I do,” Will answered. Hannibal spun him around again to face him. In one quick movement, he hoisted Will onto the table.

“You will.” He promised in a whisper. Hannibal then pushed Will down to lie on the table. He picked a knife up slowly and brought it to Will’s chest. Cutting into him. When he was finished he lifted Will’s heart out of his rib cage. He lifted it to his lips and took a bite.

Will woke with a gasp, body jerking awake and disturbing Hannibal who tighten his arms around him painfully.

As they both returned to the land of the living and Will got his breathing back Hannibal loosened his hold. 

“Are you okay?” Hannibal asked.

“Yeah.” Will hesitated trying to decide whether to tell the truth. “Weird dream.”

“Care to talk about it?” Will gently detached himself from Hannibal and lay on his back next to him. “It was our first date. You ate my heart.”

There was as stillness following his words; he would have never have shared that with anyone else – or if he had to it would be in a joking way. But with Hannibal he found himself being more and more himself. Neither he nor Hannibal were normal, and besides the less normal Will pretended to be the more Hannibal liked it.

Hannibal moved slowly and silently, so he was over Will. There was a look in his eyes that Will hadn’t seen before. If Will didn’t know better, he’d swear it was hesitation. Hannibal then leant down and kissed Will, it was gentle but deep and claiming – consuming.

Hannibal pulled back a fraction and started leaving small kisses across Will’s neck. When he moved down far enough to hit the centre of Will’s chest he paused. “Would you let me?” Hannibal asked, hovering over him but not making eye contact.

Will let out a shuddering breath and let any semblance of a mask he had left fall. “Would you let me eat yours in return?” 

Hannibal rose up to look Will in the eye and cupped his neck in a firm grip. “Of course.” He replied sincerely and with reverence. 

Xxx

Will wakes up in the morning with aching muscles. He stretched out, and the ache sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine. Hannibal was already up making breakfast from the sounds of it. The had fucked last night. Will smirked at the thought, imagining Hannibal’s reaction to using the word fuck. Would he prefer it to be called copulation? Making love?

Will suddenly sat up in fear. He hadn’t just been thinking fondly of Hannibal – he can’t have been. He pushed his hands through his hair and tugged until it hurt. He was getting attached. They had had sex – he never had sex with his marks. It's not about that and had never been about that. Will tugged his hair again for good measure and pulled himself to sit on the side of the bed. 

He looked at the closet where his bag was being kept. A bag that had an inseam stitched in that contained the poison. He hated it, but it had to be done right? It seemed so wrong to do it that way though. Plus Hannibal did all the cooking it would be hard to slip it in somewhere.

Will thought back to the idea of strangling Hannibal in his sleep. If Will were to kill Hannibal it would be with his own hand – it had to be. With a start, Will corrected himself – when he killed Hannibal. He wasn’t thinking straight, he hadn’t planned this out at all but Hannibal had to go and now – he was getting dangerous.

Will slipped some boxer shorts on and headed to the kitchen. Will would distract Hannibal, grab a weapon and get it over with. Except Will thought as he got closer, you couldn’t distract Hannibal while he was cooking, or equally while they were eating.

Hannibal was particular about it. It wasn’t just that he expected the other person to enjoy the food, it was that Hannibal watched people eat his food intently like he was making sure they appreciated it as much as they could. Will could pinpoint different relationship milestones to certain meals Hannibal had made and the intensity he’d watched Hannibal watch him. 

After breakfast then. Will would offer to help wash up, something he always did that made Hannibal grin happily at him. Manners had been about the only thing Will had really concentrated on when he constructed his mask to lure Hannibal in.

In fact, that was the problem, Hannibal had been so unexpected he hadn’t had time to construct a proper mask – instead, he’d cobbled one together. It had too many holes and had left him exposed – allowed Hannibal to get in.

When he finally arrived t the kitchen, he didn’t know whether to kiss Hannibal or kill him. As he watched Hannibal move about the kitchen a traitorous thought entered his head, ‘would it be so bad to let him live.’

Hannibal turned to look at Will, and his expression became concerned. “Will?” He asked. But Will couldn’t answer, he moved his arms to hug himself around his waist and had to look away from Hannibal. A revelation startled him – he couldn’t kill Hannibal. He doesn’t think he was ever going to. He’d been attached long before the honeymoon he just hadn’t realised.

From the first meeting when Hannibal had asked in what way he had envisioned killing the man, he had been talking to. Hannibal wasn’t normal, and neither was Will. Will always pretended to be someone else, but with Hannibal, he’d been more himself then he’d ever let anyone see.

“Will? Are you alright?” Hannibal asked he had moved to switch the cooker off, so nothing burnt and now was in front of Will but not touching him. Will shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t...” Will choked out but couldn’t finish. ‘I can’t kill you’ Will thought to himself. Will felt like his entire world had tilted and he stumbled forwards into Hannibal's ready arms. Hannibal held him tightly, on just the right side of painful.

“You can’t what?” Hannibal asked.

Will clutched at Hannibal’s back and buried his face into Hannibal’s neck. “I love you.”

Xxx

Hannibal had put Will back in bed, fed him breakfast and encouraged him to nap. He hadn’t pushed Will on what was wrong, and Will hadn’t said another word.

Hannibal had left the villa some hours ago, and Will lay in the bed contemplating whether just to go now. Make a run for it and have a fresh start. It’s not like he could stay here and live a happily married life with Hannibal.

He let himself drift to sleep and had more dreams. This time Hannibal had cooked and served his own heart for Will to eat.

xxx

Will woke up to someone stroking his hair. Hannibal was perched on the edge of the bed looking down at him.

“I am making dinner for us, get dressed and join me please,” Hannibal stated before leaving the room. For anyone else, it would be weird, for Hannibal it was normal.

Will could see the intensity in his eyes – this was an important meal. Will swallowed and tried not to think about what that could mean – the last dinner like this had ended with Hannibal proposing. Will hadn’t realised how long he had slept for – it was now evening. With a sigh he hauled himself off the bed and decided to dress smartly – dress trousers, a dark red shirt, dress shoes and he styled his hair.

He looked at himself in the mirror – he couldn’t kill Hannibal, but he didn’t want to leave either. Somehow the man had buried himself under Will’s skin and latched onto his hear. Will couldn’t like without him, if he tore out the parasite, his heart would come with it, and he would bleed internally – dying a slow death. He looked over at the closet once more, the poison – kill them both?

Will shook his head trying to dislodge the thought. He was acting rashly. He needed to take a step back and think. He had time after all – he was married to the man.

Will walked into the dining room just as Hannibal was serving. The other man had dressed up too – but then again, he was always dressed up no matter where he was.

“Are you feeling better?” Hannibal asked as they sat down opposite each other.

“Much, thank you,” Will replied.

“Please start,” Hannibal said, and Will realised he hadn’t eaten since that morning and the meal in front of him smelt wonderful. Will had been in such a rush to eat that he hadn’t realised Hannibal hadn’t said what the meal was.

Will looked up, and Hannibal hadn’t touched his, was watching Will. The look in his eyes was hard to describe, but it sent a shiver down Will’s spine. Hannibal always said what the meal was. Will who had been frozen in place gently put the fork down – he'd only had a couple of bites. Maybe he was overreacting, but he suddenly felt like he shouldn’t eat anymore. Hannibal kept staring.

“What is it?” Will asked. He had meant it to sound more elegant, more seductive but Will was feeling something he hadn’t felt in a long time – fear.

“Is it not to your taste?” Hannibal asked he looked smug. Suddenly Will had the feeling of a cat that thought they’d been chasing a mouse only to find out it was them being lured into a trap. Will assessed his options – attack, pretend nothing had happened or run Except none of those would work – he didn't have the drop so attack or un wouldn't work. Pretending nothing was wrong – well it was too far gone for that. He should have strangled him in his sleep.

Will could feel his rage build up – not at Hannibal though, at himself. He’d been cornered, and he hadn’t even seen it happen. 

“I haven’t poisoned you,” Hannibal said primly, and Will found himself laughing – it was the tone like Hannibal would never do that to his food. “You find this funny?” Hannibal asked sounding angry.

Will leaned back and studied Hannibal. He was tense and ready to spring. He had a plan but he wasn’t sure if it was going to land, ready f it went wrong. “Perhaps I should have, I could have used what you brought in your bag with you.” Hannibal spat, the remark was meant to cut, but Will could see Hannibal was upset about it. He wasn’t angry Will was going to kill him, he was angry with the method.

“I wasn’t going to use it,” WIll said sincerely, and that seemed to startle Hannibal. “It was an ‘in case of emergency’, but I hate to use it anyway. Too impersonal.” They sat in silence for a few moments assessing each other, feeling out the next move. Clearly, this wasn’t how either of them saw the night going.

“You always surprise me,” Hannibal said as if reading Will's thoughts. “When I first met you, I thought you had...certain interesting qualities. However, you keep evolving and changing- you keep me interested.”

“What am I now?” Will felt his heart skip and fuck he was invested. Hannibal looked at Will, clearly picking his words carefully.

“An equal.” Hannibal offered.

“A partner?” Will countered.

“You have yet to see my true self.”

“Do I get help?”

“I have given you everything you need,” Hannibal replied. Will recognised a challenge when it was issued. 

Hannibal was a killer – that much was obvious. But there was something else. Something to do with the food. This meal and the three others that Hannibal had been intense about. The first date, asking Will to move in with him and the proposal.

Then something clicked in his head, a connection he would have never have made if he weren’t looking for it. After all those meals, the day after in the news had been an article about a body being found. Will had taken an interest in the article because he admired the killer work. Will started to laugh, but when he looked at Hannibal, the other man was glaring.

“Sorry.” Will apologised. “But I know you also found it amusing that I was trying to kill the Chesapeake ripper.” Hannibal allowed a smirk at the comment. “So this is...” Will asked.

“Fresh,” Hannibal answered, and Will felt a strange twinge that could only be called jealousy. Hannibal must have seen it on his face because he continued, “I had contemplated bringing you. However, I was unsure of your frame of mind.”

“Next time.” Will said firmly, “you bring me.”

“Of course.”


End file.
